The Latest News from Our Field

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin this week called on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to overrule the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve the pure hydrocodone drug Zohydro ER (extended release).

Jails and prisons are signing up inmates for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to The New York Times.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday called the increase in heroin overdoses “an urgent and growing public health crisis,” The Washington Post reports.

Substance abuse treatment providers say patients are having problems getting their care covered, even though such treatment is now considered an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act.

Americans’ cocaine use fell by about half from 2006 to 2010, while their use of marijuana jumped by more than 30 percent, a new report concludes.

Legislators in a number of states are continuing to pursue measures that would deny welfare benefits to people who use illegal drugs, according to USA Today.

Washington state issued its first license to produce and process recreational marijuana this week. The grower who received the license says he expects to have marijuana plants ready to harvest within two months, Reuters reports.

A group of former top health officials is urging tobacco companies to stop marketing and selling menthol cigarettes. The group includes all of the former U.S. Secretaries of Health, Surgeons General, and Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new survey of affluent women treated for alcohol and drug addiction finds prescription medication and heroin are their leading drugs of choice.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is joining with libertarian Republicans, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, in opposing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, February 28- Thursday, March 6, 2014.

We have witnessed substance abuse problems spread from community to community, seemingly unabated. The National Rx Drug Abuse Summit is helping to meet challenges head-on through an unprecedented collaboration, says Dan Smoot of Operation Unite.

A growing number of teens are starting to use devices that are similar to e-cigarettes, with names such as “hookah pens,” “e-hookahs” or “vape pens.” The devices are being marketed to avoid the stigma associated with smoking any kind of cigarette, The New York Times reports.

Law enforcement officials are concerned about a potentially addictive drug called kratom, which is sold as a tea in head shops, according to USA Today.

A new study concludes the Affordable Care Act could give an estimated 4 million people who have spent time in U.S. jails better access to health care, including coverage for treating substance abuse and mental illness.

Some TV stations in New Jersey aired the first medical marijuana ad this week.

People who frequently abuse opioid painkillers are more likely to get the drugs from a doctor’s prescription or a dealer, rather than for free from family or friends, a new study finds.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died from taking a combination of drugs, including heroin and cocaine, according to the New York City Medical Examiner. Experts say tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually in the United States are due to a similar mix of drugs.

A new government report finds 42.5 million American adults, or 18.2 percent of the adult population, suffers from some form of mental illness. About 4 percent suffers serious mental illness that impedes day-to-day activities.

A study of moderate drinkers ages 55 to 65 found those who drink large amounts less often have higher death rates, compared with those who drink small amounts more regularly. The researchers say most studies that examine the potential effects of moderate drinking generally focus on average levels of drinking, instead of overall drinking patterns.

Both supporters and critics of marijuana legalization see 2014 as a key year, which could either slow or hasten their efforts, The New York Times reports.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is cracking down in California on a potent marijuana product called “wax,” according to ABC News. Wax is legal—and popular—in Colorado.

A new study links teen indoor tanning with other risky health behaviors including use of illegal drugs, binge drinking and smoking.

“Study drugs” such as Vyvanse and Adderall are gaining popularity among Florida college students, even though area colleges have a zero-tolerance policy against students using medicines not prescribed for them.